Womack and Farley records, Charles City County Virginia

The Virginia Archives is in the process of having volunteers transcribe a recently found portion of "Charles City County Record Book, 1692-1700".  Part of this book was abstracted year ago by Benjamin B Weisiger III, see American Womack Records Before 1701, Part II (read this link for abstracts of the the earliest Farley and Womack deeds in Charles City Co).  Part of the record book was recently returned to Virginia after being taken by a Union soldier back to Pennsylvania where it stayed in his family for generations.  See story in Richmond newspaper.

This has two important records in the first set of records abstracted by Weisiger:

• John Farley Sr, and wife (not named) to John Farley Jr, 1693.  John Farley Jr married Elizabeth Akin, and they were the parents of Mary Farley who married Thomas Womack.
• John Farley Sr, and wife Mary to John Womack, 1693.  John Womack was marred to Mary Akin, sister of Elizabeth, who was married to John Farley Jr.

The will of James Akin Sr in 1712 (Henrico Co, VA Wills & Deeds 1710-1714:240) mentions 4 children including Mary Womack and Elizabeth Farlow [sic, Farley].

John Farley Jr and John Womack lived side by side for a while in a section of Charles City County which became Prince George Co, VA in 1702, so the two Akin sisters were next to one another.

Those deeds can be found here, "Charles City County Record Book, 1692-1700", images 8 and 9, which are pages 155 and 156.  (Note, search the page for "Image 8", etc., since they are not all in order.)

There are two important research questions that can hopefully be answered by the transcription of the Charles City records:

1. In the 1704 Virginia Quit Rent Roll for Prince George Co, John Womack had 550 acres, but in 1693, he had only 75 acres.  How did he acquire the 475 acre difference in 11 years?
2. When was Mary Farley, daughter of John Farley Jr and Elizabeth Akin, born?  Several sources on the internet claim John Farley Jr and Elizabeth Akin married in 1700; furthermore, they assert that John Farley Jr's will (Chesterfield Co, VA WB 1:200) states that they married in 1700.  Having seen the will on microfilm, I can assert it does not.  The birth year of Mary Farley is important, because I believe she was born closer to 1690, and had son Abraham Womack Sr circa 1708, who in turn had son Abraham Womack Jr in 1726 per his Bible record: "Abraham Womack departed this life May 6, 1800, aged seventy four years."  Farley researchers have Mary born circa 1702, far too late to be the mother of Abraham Womack Sr.

These questions have been partially answered by recent transcriptions.

Images 265 - 267 cover pages 455 - 457 of Charles City Co, VA RB:1692-1700.

Charles City Co, VA RB:1692-1700:455-456.  Abstract by me: 3 Aug 1696, John Farley Jr of Charles City Co and Westopher [sic] Parish to John Hardiman of same county and parish, 75 acres purchased of Hercules Flood by John Farley Sr, who purchased 150 acres and made over to John Womack one half and son John Farley the other half, "divided with the apurtance of Herk Flood Will:m Jones & Henry Jones", Elizabeth Farley wife of John consents and releases dower.  Witnesses Mary Kennon and Elizabeth Kennon.  Signed John Farley I F his mark, 5 Oct 1696.  On back side of deed, John Hardiman assigned the land to Samuel Brooke.  Acknowledged by John Hardiman in open court 4 Nov 1698.  Samuel Brooks and wife Mary made this deed over to Henry Read, 3 Jan 1699, Witnesses: Jonas Liskam, David Owen.  Acknowledged by Saml Brooks in Westover open court, 3 Jan 1699.

So, John Farley Jr and Elizabeth Akin were married at least by 5 Oct 1696 when they sold out in Charles City Co and moved back to Henrico Co (modern Chesterfield).  They were very likely married before 20 Nov 1692, when John Farley Sr gave the land to his son, John Farley Jr.  John Farley Sr went to go live on the land in Henrico Co (modern Chesterfield Co) that he had traded with John Womack, meaning John Farley Jr was a grown man and likely married already.  So, I believe my assertion that Mary Farley, daughter of John Farley Jr and Elizabeth Akin, was born circa 1690, is correct.  Mary was the name of John Farley Jr's mother, and by naming patterns of the time, it makes sense that Mary was the oldest daughter.  Also, Mary was the second child listed in John Farley Jr's will, perhaps indicating she was early in the birth order.

There is another interesting deed in Prince George Co, VA:

Records 1713-1728:152.  11 Mar 1716.  Harman Read and wife Ann lease to Michael Wallice 75 acres in Westopher parish on north side of Blackwater Swamp, next to John Womack, being land John Farloe purchased of Hercules Flood.  Witnesses Richard Bland, Gilbert Hay.  Signed Harman (HR) Read, recorded 12 Mar 1716.

This is obviously the same land John Farley Jr and wife Elizabeth sold to John Hardiman, who assigned it to Samuel Brooke, who assigned to Henry Read; somehow by 1716 it belonged to Harmon Read who leased it to Michael Wallace.

This is important for two reasons:

1. Later Prince George records show that Michael Wallace was the father of Elizabeth Wallace, who married Abraham Womack, son of John Womack and Mary Akin.
2. The Farloe spelling is significant.  I checked the original on microfilm, and it definitely says John Farloe, so Farloe/Farlow were legitimate variations of Farley, and when James Akin Sr named Elizabeth Farlow in his will, he was referring to Elizabeth Farley, wife of John Farley Jr.

Land Patents:

• Hercules Flood/Fludd had 4 patent in Charles City Co between 1663 and 1690; not sure which contained the land he sold to John Farley Sr.  See LVA website.
• William Jones got 400 acres in Charles City Co on 8 Apr 1674 (VA PB 6:510), described as 470 acres on the south side of the Appamattox River, beginning at a corner surveyed for Hercules Flood.

Some thoughts on when John Womack married...

John Womack was a mean guy who got in a lot of trouble, including for beating his wife and kids.  He had no land until 1680, when his brother Richard Womack gave him 100 acres (Henrico WD 1677-1692:168), the same land John Womack traded in 1692 with John Farley Sr for the land in Charles City Co, VA (later Prince George Co) (see https://sites.google.com/site/womackgen/womack-records/us/virginia/henrico-county).  Since he was a trouble-maker with no land, I find it unlikely that James Akins let John Womack marry his daughter before he had land, and there is no proof John was married prior to 1680, though he was definitely married in 1692 when he traded the land, because his wife Mary [Akin] consented (Henrico WD 1688-1697:378).  In fact, John Womack was married to Mary by 1 Feb 1688 (1689 in modern style) when Mary took him to court for beating her and "small children".  (Henrico OB 1681-1701:297).  It was also in Feb 1688/1689 that Barthlomew Roberts deposed that about April last year (so April 1688), he saw John Womack beat Mary and a 3-month old child for wetting the bed (Henrico OB 1688-1697:36).

 John Womack made his will in 1725 in Prince George Co, VA (Records 1713-1728:856, naming wife Mary, oldest son John, youngest son Abraham and son William.  An earlier deed record showed he had a son Richard Womack (Prince George Co, VA Records 1713-1728:152).  The records of Prince George Co are fragmentary, but John Womack Jr does not appear until 9 Dec 1712 when he bought land (Wills & Deeds 1710-1713:171).

All of this is to say that John Womack likely did not marry Mary Akin until circa 1685, and Mary was probably about 10 years younger than him.  Their son William Womack, from whom a large branch of the Womack family descends, was likely born circa 1700, and died 1778 when his will was probated in Halifax Co, NC.  John Jr (the oldest son) was likely born circa 1687, Richard circa 1690, and youngest Abraham circa 1703.

NOTE: Blogger editor ate a couple paragraphs concerning a significant Charles City Co, VA deed for John Womack; I will post more on this later.